Oral Answers to Questions

Diana Johnson Excerpts

Thursday 17th March 2016 Commons Chamber

[Rory Stewart]

I absolutely agree: it is a huge problem—there are tens of millions of these things being produced and thrown away. As the hon. Gentleman pointed out, many cannot be recycled because of the way they are disposed of or because of their composition. The Government have tackled plastic bags—I hope everybody in the House would agree that the plastic bag tax has been a success—and coffee cups seem to be a very good thing to look at next.

[Diana Johnson (Kingston upon Hull North) (Lab)]

3. What recent progress she has made on the national flood resilience review and updating her Department's flood defence plans.

[The Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Elizabeth Truss)]

We are making good progress on the national flood resilience review. The call for evidence closed on 4 March. Yesterday, at the Budget, the Chancellor announced that, as well as the £2.3 billion already committed, an additional £700 million will be made available for flood defences.

[Diana Johnson]

Has the Secretary of State any qualms about the fact that under the Help to Buy scheme her Government are subsiding first-time buyers to purchase homes in flood risk areas? At the same time, those people are not included in the Flood Re scheme the Government set up to provide flood insurance.